Such a racket is known e.g. in the form of a tennis racket from the DE-B2-25 64 028.
Rackets of the known type possess, within the striking surface, an area determined by the geometry of the frame and the tautness of the strings, the so-called "sweet spot". If in the course of the striking, the ball strikes within this area, it can be controlled and played in a reliable manner, in which case the deflections of the vibration system formed by arm, hand and racket and, with that, the strain on the arm and the hand of the player is comparatively light.
However, the conditions are different when the ball impinges upon the striking surface outside the sweet spot. If the point of impact diverges in the longitudinal axis of the racket from the sweet spot, strong flexural vibrations are started up in the arm-hand-racket system which impair the feel for the ball and the control of the ball and stress the player more strongly. If the point of impingement diverges laterally, i.e. transversally to the longitudinal axis of the racket, torsional vibrations are produced which are connected with the pertinent negative repercussions.
In order to reduce or avoid the vibrations of the racket which have a negative effect, many diversely constructed vibration damping systems have already been developed.
Thus, from the DE-A-27 21 715, a damping system for tennis rackets is known which is accommodated in the hollow frame of the racket and which is essentially comprised of a cord or a wire which, by way of example, is enclosed inside the hollow racket frame in a resilient embedment.
Furthermore, from the publications U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,131, GB 2,225,539 A, EP 171 033 A3 and the EP 32 306 B1, cylindrical vibration damping elements are known which are inserted into the frame vertically to the racket surface and which are, in part, also resiliently mounted.
Cylindrical damping elements which are mounted in other spatial directions in or on the frame, are likewise known from the EP 32 506 A1 and the GB 2,225,537 A.
Occasionally, also different solution proposals are to be found, as in the DE-A-23 38 534, in which damping elements are disclosed which are comprised of a material attached to an elastic pin that is provided on or in the handle, or of an elastic strand which is bent in the manner of a "U" and, inter alia, which is disposed in the triangle between racket and handle in such a way that the legs of the "U" are secured to the frame, while the bent portion is able to swing freely.
According to the EP 275 805 B1, tennis rackets also form part of the state of the art in which, between handle and striking surface, plates coated with an elastic material are fitted to the frame so as to damp vibrations.
However, these damping means have proved themselves to be disadvantageous for a number of reasons.
The known vibration damping systems compensate flexural vibrations only to an inadequate extent since the damping materials, by virtue of their disposition in the space relative to the racket, are able to execute corresponding compensatory vibrations only inadequately.
The damping devices likewise impose a strain on the striking hand by their additional weight, which makes itself clearly felt when playing over a longer period of time without it being possible to profitably make use of the additional weight for the stroke.
In addition, for almost all damping systems, structural steps are necessary on the racket frames which, in part, are very expensive so that relevant frame constructions have to be developed first which forces the production costs up unnecessarily and, moreover, very largely rule out a refitting of rackets already fabricated.
That is why it is the technical problem of the present invention to provide a racket of the type stated in the beginning, in which these undesirable effects are either eliminated to a large extent or at least greatly reduced at a modest cost, while the striking properties are improved at the same time.
The technical problem is resolved by means of the features characterized in the claim 1.